No more Slice, but now a Hook?

[MellowYellow]

So I stopped slicing the ball with my driver and mid irons quite a while ago, however now I seem to be hitting some hooks or maybe just a really severe pull. I'm not really sure what I'm doing that causes it, I try taking my hands to the inside more then to the outside more, but somehow once I start doing it I just seem to keep pulling balls ridiculously sharply to the left, any clue on what causes it and what I may be doing?

The weird thing is I think I'm hitting my balls further than ever, I went to the range 2 days ago and was just smashing balls right out of the gate, I couldnt believe it, then after about 20 balls in, HOOKsville...

Any ideas?

[bkoguy07]

how's your grip look? sometimes when i start hitting hooks its because my palm of my right hand (i'm righty) is facing up or towards the target, when i switch back to the more neutral grip, it goes away.

[MellowYellow]

thanks, ill take a look, gonna hit the range soon.

[Scott_K]

It sounds like you flattened out your plane a little by taking the hands more towards the inside. Guessing you did this to get rid of the slice. When I flatten out my plane too much, I tend to pull the ball as I come around with too much of a turning motion without any lateral movement on the downswing.

If you're killing it for a while at the range and then starting to hook the ball, it might be your legs and lower body "going to sleep" and you're swinging mostly with your upper body. When my legs get tired on the course (14-18) and I end up with an upper body swing, my tee shots can end up on the left side with a pull or a hook. The driver takes a lot out of you when you're hitting it at the range. I find it more productive if you hit maybe 10 drives with your pre-shot routine and focus rather than 20 or 30 that are smashed.

[MellowYellow]

So you are saying less lower body turn = more hook? See I was thinking the more I turned my lower body the more i was likely to close the club face or even Over close it and smoke it left. Maybe I am going at it backwards then. It's hard to say, but yeah now I either hit straight or pull the hell out of it, almost NEVER a fade or slice.

[Scott_K]

In some sense, yes, less lower body can lead to more pull if the swing plane is flat and the lower body is not turning and moving forward. The upper body tends to do most of the work and come around pull the ball left. At least with my experience. There's a lot more to it than I can explain. If you're willing to read the "slide your hips" and ball flight law threads, they help in understanding how the body works and the results you get from different swing paths, face angles, etc. A hook and a pull are different. It's pretty heady stuff, but the knowledge is very good if your self taught.

Did you try playing with the grip like the other guy metioned ? It might be as simple as that. Ha.

[he4dhuntr]

I find that once the balls start doing something funky, you should go back to the basics and figure out what you're doing wrong. What I usually do is go back to taking half-swings and making sure everything is lining up (i.e., club on toe line, head steady, legs/supports steady, hip turn, weight shift, etc.). Then I go to a full backswing to halfway through and check my setup at the top (i.e., hands above head, heal line, club pointing down the target line, head steady, shoulders turned, legs steady, etc). Once those swings are working I go back to the full swing. It's about ingraining the right moves into your muscles and doing them without thinking. As for why you're hooking, a video might help :/

Cheers,